Woah! I’m feeling mighty uninspired. I think it might have to do with the clouds and rain, which are normally quite nice, but something’s blocking my brain and I feel like I have to obligatorily blame it on the weather. Maybe I need to watch a movie, or go on a mini vacation, or just hug someone for a really long time. It sure is an excuse to get juices flowing with actual alcoholic juice, but I’m going to not because my brain is telling me no. (Which means it’s going to be one can of beer or just a hint of scotch. And then maybe more scotch.)

Two weeks ago, I skipped class on southern Italy to attend an afternoon whisky seminar followed by a sobering nap. And then downtown for a good friend’s birthday. Would’ve been great had I not had to work early the next day, but I guess these things make you feel alive, even if “alive” means “searing headache”. Last week, I skipped a workshop class in order to study, sip on some Franciacorta, and hang out with some cool people. I was really tempted to skip this week for no good reason, but I went. And I know: rain and tiredness is no real reason not to trudge all the way to class, and yes – insert Nike commercial here or whatever – but let’s not forget that I’m still a pretty terrible human being.

The class was business-based and we tasted two flights of four, plus an in-class analysis activity in partners. FUN! Really.

The topic my partner and I had was “California Red Blends”. Just the best, sweetest, and most delicious topic. Duh.

There were no hints to our flights of wine, but it became a bit evident that we were tasting wines whose regions we won’t cover in class. Spread the love, you know? Spread it all over our mouths.

The flight of whites wasn’t super difficult but it had its tricks. Spritz and freshness gave the first wine away (Casal Garcia Vinho Verde, $12), while the third, the lime-dominated obvi-Riesling, had most people split between one from the Eden/Clare Valley in Australia, a drier German Riesling (i.e. Rheingau), Alsace, or Austria. To me, it wasn’t piercing enough for the first option, and not peachy and elegant enough for the next two options, and the limey more savage version brought me to Austria (Weingut Bründlmayer 2008 “Kamptaler Terrassen” Riesling, $30). Could’ve been a flukey guess. The fourth (Michel Torino 2013 “Cuma” Torrontés, $14) was easy-ish: Torrontés is part of the aromatic group of grapes that smell like Bed Bath and Beyond decided to collaborate with the tropical section of that asian grocery store, but with more acid and generally a lighter body than grapes like Viognier and Muscat. Into it. The second wine (Domäne Wachau 2012 Grüner Veltliner, $18) was the hardest of them all and had me running around in circles and I landed a bunch of incorrect guesses like a white Côtes-du-Rhone, South African Chenin, and holy water. Ugh, Grüner, whatever. Same diff.

Though the flight of reds was harder, I don’t know how I mostly nailed the fifth (MOB 2011 Dão, $45) and sixth (Quinta Vale D. Maria 2011 Douro, $55) Portuguese wines besides the semi-hint. Spidey senses. I think the point here was that the Dão was slightly fresher than the fuller Douro field blend, though the core personalities of both were rather twin-like. But more fraternal than identical.

The seventh wine (Cono Sur 2012 “Block 21 Viento Mar” Pinot Noir, $20) was a bizarre and clunky combination of dried oranges, pomegranates, and wine gums and I wasn’t super into it; the last wine (Ridge 2011 “Lytton Springs”, $55) was fun, I suppose. It was close enough to the Portuguese wines that it had me suspicious, but it was different enough that I had to raise an eyebrow and squeeze out a half-guess before calling it a day.

And then I went home and said I wouldn’t have a drink because of the next day’s shindig, but I had just the smallest pinch of scotch.

So yes: the next night included lots of alcohol and laughter and fun with awesome colleagues, plus this bottle of Château Coulac 1983 Saint-Croix-du-Monte. The appellation is across the river from Sauternes, and that’s all I really know. Apparently a fantastic year for the region, and though there’s a real honeyed character, there’s a dry and almost steely nuttiness that illuminates the amphitheatre that is your mouth. Definitely drier than we were expecting, I think?

(I was going to make a “You Sauternes me on” joke, but it’s the wrong appellation and now I’m sad about it.)

And then we all ran out of wine, so we had beers and whisky instead. Drunk salad is now a thing that happens at home before I go to bed. It’s true.

There’s a fun wine dinner happening on Sunday and I’m stoked and not stoked all at the same time.

Casal Garcia Vinho Verde – WSET Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, pale lemon, legs, hint of froth/spritz
Nose: clean, med+ intensity, youthful, stone fruit, peach, nectarine, green apple, hint of canned peaches
Mouth: hint spritz, dry, med- body, med+ acid, med flavour intensity, med- alcohol, citrus, lemon, mineral, med length, hint of canned peach, green fruit
All in all: Good quality: simple and short, but there’s balance between the freshness, intensity, and aromatic character. Drink now: not suitable for ageing or further ageing.
Identity Guess: Mid-priced Vinho Verde from Portugal; 2 years old.
Is really: Inexpensive Vinho Verde from Portugal; NV.

Producer: Casal Garcia
Designation: N/A
Region: Portugal
Sub-Region: Vinho Verde DOC
Variety: Trajadura, Loureiro, Arinto, Azal
ABV: 10%
Vintage: NV?
Tasted: Feb 2, 2015
Price: $12